LUCY 3.5***
Starting with
the provocative premise that human beings use only 10% of their brain
capacity, French filmmaker Luc Besson ( “The Professional”, “Taken”, “The
Transporter” & “La Femme Nikita”), who knew that this percentage was
inaccurate, nonetheless plunged ahead with this inventive adventure, revolving
around a naïve young American named Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) who gets tricked
into delivering a mysterious metal briefcase to a Taiwanese drug lord who
then forces her to become one of his drug mules. When there’s leakage from the
bag of blue crystals that’s been surgically inserted in her abdomen, an
amazing metamorphosis begins to occur. Lucy’s brain begins to use more and more of its power (going
from 10% to 20%, then to 40% and so on) and thus reaching heretofore
unexplored human levels of aptitude. At first she's hung-over, then next
she's taking out a whole squad of hit men, then x-raying her roommate's body
and diagnosing her with a single touch, and during every spare moment in
this fast moving story she’s on the computer totally absorbing i.e. downloading
huge volumes of data at a fantastic speed.
The movie has been
primarily sold as Johansson being a butt-kicking action character, but that is
only partly true part . Actually there is more emphasis on cerebral aspects and
as the movie unfolds, Lucy is discovering new and growing brain
powers and trying to understand and assimilate them.
After a decade when the only person to take her seriously as an
actress was Woody Allen, Scarlett Johansson seems to have found her groove of
late, with “Lucy” as further confirmation of her niche.
She’s been a poker-faced Russian heroine in the comic book “The Avengers” series, a murderously humorless but seductive alien in “Under the Skin” and a voice a guy could fall in love with in “Her.” And that’s the polished skill-set she brings to “Lucy,”
She’s been a poker-faced Russian heroine in the comic book “The Avengers” series, a murderously humorless but seductive alien in “Under the Skin” and a voice a guy could fall in love with in “Her.” And that’s the polished skill-set she brings to “Lucy,”
Johansson
uses the exact right take and tone for the role of Lucy: slightly invested,
mostly removed, observing it all with a bemused grin as she becomes more and
more hyper-intelligent . She continues to surprise—she's become the rare
actress who can use her obvious sex appeal while at the same time
surprising you with a convincing performance that here portrays not only
“street smarts” but hyper-intelligence. This may not quite be an Oscar
worthy performance but it is one that is perfectly portrayed and
consistently on .She is sensational first as the terrified Lucy who then
evolves into the confused and baffled Lucy and then into an almost God-like
being. Johansson is perfect in all three personas. Lucy isn't quite as smart as
it pretends to be, but it doesn't need to be. It has a movie star at its
center who can more than take care of that on her own.
Lucy” continues a happy trend this summer.
Unlike so many brain-dead big budget action movies, this is an excellent
sci-fi movie that effectively balances thoughtful or clever ideas with
exhilarating action, each feeding the other. Lucy” follows nicely in the
footsteps of “Edge of Tomorrow”, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,”
“Snowpiercer” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”
Clark
PS: As you may know I am a Big fan of
Scarlett Johansson. BUT despite that, I was highly impressed with her
performance in this movie. She has become a very gifted actress who also happens
to be a very, very attractive young lady !!